Get-rich scam victims get name suppression

A Rotorua District Court judge is keeping secret the names of some people who lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in fraudulent money-making schemes.

Two of the four who have been granted final name suppression are Auckland businessmen and another is an Auckland church leader. The fourth is a former Rotorua man.

The men were witnesses in a fraud trial in November and December last year at which Bill and Lee Papple and Tina West were charged with fraud.

Lee Papple and West were found guilty of conspiring to commit fraud. Bill Papple will be retried on the charge after the jury failed to agree on his involvement.

The fraudulent schemes lured more than 100 investors to hand over more than $14 million.

They were told their principal sums were guaranteed and were promised monthly interest rates of 10 to 30 per cent.

Some of the more than 20 witnesses wanted to keep their identities secret because they did not want their involvement in such schemes made public.

Last year Rotorua Mormon church leader Gerrard Willem Brons lost his Court of Appeal battle to have his name kept secret.

He invested $590,000 in the get-rich-quick schemes.

Judge Weir released his finding this week relating to the four other men, saying that while open justice was paramount, it did not mean other factors should not be considered carefully.

He cited reasons for keeping the men's identities suppressed as their reputation in the community, financial and professional consequences and possible consequences to the men's employees or organisations.

Lee Papple and West are scheduled to be sentenced today.

- NZPA